Puppy Crate Training

David wanted to know about puppy crate training in anticipation of his new Bouvier puppy arriving: “I will be getting a Bouvier puppy in September. He will be my second Bouvier. Great dog. My first one was very easy to train, but I was a little lax with him. This one will be different. Do you recommend crate training for every puppy?

Puppy Crate Training For Every Dog?

Do you notice differences between puppies that are crate trained and those that are not? I have many training books, since I trained a little many years ago, and I assume that methods and techniques have changed with time. – David.

Hi, David: Yes, puppy crate training — or even crate training an adult dog— is absolutely necessary. But specifically in the case of puppy crate training, your puppy requires oonsistency so that every time he tries to chew something he shouldn’t, he gets corrected. Every time he thinks about urinating on the rug, he gets rushed outside. Every time he thinks about investigating what’s inside the trash can, he gets corrected.

Puppy Crate Training Is Timeless

There’s no way to keep the dog safe in the house and prevent him from learning bad habits without the crate. Even locking the dog in the laundry room is not a good substitute, as the puppy will learn to chew on base boards and learns that it’s fine to defecate on the tile floor. Whereas the crate brings out the puppy’s den instincts and they do not typically want to defile the crate (if your breeder did his job!)

The other benefit of the crate is that it gives your dog a “safe place” to go when he is insecure and knows he is where he should be, for example: During a thunderstorm.

If you look at all of the top dog trainers both here in America and around the world, they all crate train their puppies. Why? Because puppy crate training is the only way to keep your puppy safe and prevent him from learning bad habits.